As Provost, I recognize the extraordinary challenges faced by students as they work to successfully complete their courses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. I appreciate your thoughtful questions following yesterday’s announcement of the Interim Undergraduate Grade Policy. The policy was designed specifically to provide you with the flexibility to choose a course-by-course no-risk alternative grading option to meet your needs and goals.

To help you better understand the policy, I am including the following graphic and key points.

Important Policy Highlights

The Interim Undergraduate Grade Policy applies to all undergraduate students in courses offered during Spring 2020 Sessions 1, 4, 5, and 6, as well as the 2020 Summer Mini Session. The policy will be reviewed for continuation through future terms if necessary.

You will have the opportunity to review your spring semester grades and then choose your grading option

You may make different grade choices for different classes, choosing to keep some letter grades, to receive a grade of Satisfactory (S) for letter grades D- or above, and to receive No Credit Reported (NCR) for grades of F.

Any letter grades you choose to keep will be used to calculate your GPA; Satisfactory (S) and No Credit Reported COVID-19 (NCR) grades are not factored into term or cumulative GPA.

The deadline for instructors to post grades is May 11, 2020, and then you will have until 5:00 pm on May 18, 2020, to select the grading option you prefer for each class.

The process through which you will choose your grading options is being designed now, and more details will be communicated by the Office of the University Registrar by April 27, 2020.

I encourage you to read the full policy online. It will answer many of your questions. Should you have additional questions, please send an email to grading@uh.edu. We are working on adding Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to the website. Your success at the University of Houston is our primary mission. We are committed to making sure your academic life proceeds as seamlessly as possible this semester.